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Dávila G, Torres-Prioris MJ, López-Barroso D, Berthier ML. Turning the Spotlight to Cholinergic Pharmacotherapy of the Human Language System. CNS Drugs 2023; 37:599-637. [PMID: 37341896 PMCID: PMC10374790 DOI: 10.1007/s40263-023-01017-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/22/2023]
Abstract
Even though language is essential in human communication, research on pharmacological therapies for language deficits in highly prevalent neurodegenerative and vascular brain diseases has received little attention. Emerging scientific evidence suggests that disruption of the cholinergic system may play an essential role in language deficits associated with Alzheimer's disease and vascular cognitive impairment, including post-stroke aphasia. Therefore, current models of cognitive processing are beginning to appraise the implications of the brain modulator acetylcholine in human language functions. Future work should be directed further to analyze the interplay between the cholinergic system and language, focusing on identifying brain regions receiving cholinergic innervation susceptible to modulation with pharmacotherapy to improve affected language domains. The evaluation of language deficits in pharmacological cholinergic trials for Alzheimer's disease and vascular cognitive impairment has thus far been limited to coarse-grained methods. More precise, fine-grained language testing is needed to refine patient selection for pharmacotherapy to detect subtle deficits in the initial phases of cognitive decline. Additionally, noninvasive biomarkers can help identify cholinergic depletion. However, despite the investigation of cholinergic treatment for language deficits in Alzheimer's disease and vascular cognitive impairment, data on its effectiveness are insufficient and controversial. In the case of post-stroke aphasia, cholinergic agents are showing promise, particularly when combined with speech-language therapy to promote trained-dependent neural plasticity. Future research should explore the potential benefits of cholinergic pharmacotherapy in language deficits and investigate optimal strategies for combining these agents with other therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guadalupe Dávila
- Cognitive Neurology and Aphasia Unit, Centro de Investigaciones Médico-Sanitarias, University of Malaga, Marqués de Beccaria 3, 29010, Malaga, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Malaga-IBIMA, Malaga, Spain
- Department of Psychobiology and Methodology of Behavioral Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy, University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain
- Language Neuroscience Research Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy, University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain
| | - María José Torres-Prioris
- Cognitive Neurology and Aphasia Unit, Centro de Investigaciones Médico-Sanitarias, University of Malaga, Marqués de Beccaria 3, 29010, Malaga, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Malaga-IBIMA, Malaga, Spain
- Department of Psychobiology and Methodology of Behavioral Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy, University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain
- Language Neuroscience Research Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy, University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain
| | - Diana López-Barroso
- Cognitive Neurology and Aphasia Unit, Centro de Investigaciones Médico-Sanitarias, University of Malaga, Marqués de Beccaria 3, 29010, Malaga, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Malaga-IBIMA, Malaga, Spain
- Department of Psychobiology and Methodology of Behavioral Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy, University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain
- Language Neuroscience Research Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy, University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain
| | - Marcelo L Berthier
- Cognitive Neurology and Aphasia Unit, Centro de Investigaciones Médico-Sanitarias, University of Malaga, Marqués de Beccaria 3, 29010, Malaga, Spain.
- Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Malaga-IBIMA, Malaga, Spain.
- Language Neuroscience Research Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy, University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain.
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Schaeverbeke J, Tomé SO, Ronisz A, Ospitalieri S, von Arnim CAF, Otto M, Vandenberghe R, Thal DR. Neuronal loss of the nucleus basalis of Meynert in primary progressive aphasia is associated with Alzheimer's disease neuropathological changes. Alzheimers Dement 2022; 19:1440-1451. [PMID: 36170544 DOI: 10.1002/alz.12794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Revised: 07/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Imaging studies indicated basal forebrain reduction in primary progressive aphasia (PPA), which might be a candidate marker for cholinergic treatment. Nucleus basalis of Meynert (nbM) neuronal loss has been reported, but a systematic quantitative neuropathological assessment including the three clinical PPA variants is lacking. METHODS Quantitative assessment of neuronal density and pathology was performed on nbM tissue of 47 cases: 15 PPA, constituting the different clinicopathological phenotypes, 14 Alzheimer's disease (AD), and 18 cognitively normals. RESULTS Group-wise, reduced nbM neuronal density was restricted to AD. At the individual level, semantic variant PPA with underlying AD neuropathological change (ADNC) had lower neuronal densities, while those with frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) transactive response DNA binding protein 43 kDa (TDP-43) type C pathology were unaffected. Higher Braak stages and increased numbers of nbM-related pretangles were associated with nbM neuronal loss. DISCUSSION nbM neuronal loss in PPA is related to ADNC. This study cautions against overinterpreting MRI-based basal forebrain volumes in non-AD PPA as neuronal loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jolien Schaeverbeke
- Laboratory for Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurosciences, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Laboratory of Neuropathology, Department of Imaging and Pathology, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Sandra O Tomé
- Laboratory of Neuropathology, Department of Imaging and Pathology, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Alicja Ronisz
- Laboratory of Neuropathology, Department of Imaging and Pathology, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Simona Ospitalieri
- Laboratory of Neuropathology, Department of Imaging and Pathology, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Christine A F von Arnim
- Department of Neurology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
- Department of Geriatrics, University Medical Center, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Markus Otto
- Department of Neurology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
- Department of Neurology, University clinic, Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Rik Vandenberghe
- Laboratory for Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurosciences, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Neurology, UZ Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Dietmar Rudolf Thal
- Laboratory of Neuropathology, Department of Imaging and Pathology, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Pathology, UZ Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Bocchetta M, Malpetti M, Todd EG, Rowe JB, Rohrer JD. Looking beneath the surface: the importance of subcortical structures in frontotemporal dementia. Brain Commun 2021; 3:fcab158. [PMID: 34458729 PMCID: PMC8390477 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcab158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Whilst initial anatomical studies of frontotemporal dementia focussed on cortical involvement, the relevance of subcortical structures to the pathophysiology of frontotemporal dementia has been increasingly recognized over recent years. Key structures affected include the caudate, putamen, nucleus accumbens, and globus pallidus within the basal ganglia, the hippocampus and amygdala within the medial temporal lobe, the basal forebrain, and the diencephalon structures of the thalamus, hypothalamus and habenula. At the most posterior aspect of the brain, focal involvement of brainstem and cerebellum has recently also been shown in certain subtypes of frontotemporal dementia. Many of the neuroimaging studies on subcortical structures in frontotemporal dementia have been performed in clinically defined sporadic cases. However, investigations of genetically- and pathologically-confirmed forms of frontotemporal dementia are increasingly common and provide molecular specificity to the changes observed. Furthermore, detailed analyses of sub-nuclei and subregions within each subcortical structure are being added to the literature, allowing refinement of the patterns of subcortical involvement. This review focuses on the existing literature on structural imaging and neuropathological studies of subcortical anatomy across the spectrum of frontotemporal dementia, along with investigations of brain–behaviour correlates that examine the cognitive sequelae of specific subcortical involvement: it aims to ‘look beneath the surface’ and summarize the patterns of subcortical involvement have been described in frontotemporal dementia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Bocchetta
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Maura Malpetti
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Emily G Todd
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - James B Rowe
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jonathan D Rohrer
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
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